AUSTIN — Moments after Gov. Rick Perry’s State of the State speech at the Capitol last week, dozens of Democrats crammed inside a tiny room to give their rebuttal to reporters.

Freshman Rep. Gene Wu had expected a lone TV crew and a couple of people standing around when he agreed to speak at the request of the Democratic caucus chair. He was faced, instead, with a dozen cameras and a standing-room-only crowd.

So he stepped up, suggested the governor invest in people as much as he wants to invest in infrastructure, and then melted back into the crowd.

“I have not been that nervous since my first closing at my first trial,” said Wu, a former prosecutor.

Not all the dozens of newly elected lawmakers will be subjected to such a stark and public baptismal fire. But as the largest freshman class in recent memory prepares to make its mark on the Legislature this year, they’ll be navigating the tricky — and sometimes counterintuitive — rules and decorum necessary to survive at the state Capitol.

Many were elected on promises of change, but the Legislature operates on complicated rules and in difficult circumstances. When issues become a blur and exhaustion sets in, some Capitol veterans and observers fear that the big issues lawmakers are trying to tackle this year — the budget, education, water and transportation infrastructure — could suffer with so many inexperienced members.

They’ve gotten advice ranging from the soaring (stay true to your principles) to the practical (wear comfortable shoes). But two rules reign for freshmen to get adjusted: Build relationships, and be respectful.

“I’ve been really trying to keep quiet about things and just listen and watch and pay attention to what people do, and how they do things, and try and conduct myself in a way that is not disrespectful to any other member,” said Rep. Ed Thompson, R-Pearland. “I don’t want them to think that, well, here’s this freshman coming in here trying to act like he’s some big deal.”

House newcomers

More than 40 new lawmakers enter the House this year, nearly one-third of the entire body. They are thrilled and excited, several said, overwhelmed and constantly surprised.

“It’s kind of like being back in college, and every day you have a series of mini-seminars on various topics,” said Rep. Tony Dale, R-Cedar Park. “You’ll have meetings with funeral directors and people about water and then the motorcycle people were in yesterday, and colleges and high schools and middle school, electricity, oil and gas. It’s all over the map.”

There are a lot of jokes about how most of the House is still just trying to find the bathrooms. Behind that, though, is the fact that freshmen have much to learn — about processes, about egos, and about the personal toll the session can take — and not much time to learn it.

Sometimes, the lessons are painful.

“I knew I’d miss my wife and daughters, but the heartache of being away from them is overwhelming sometimes,” said Rep. Jason Villalba, R-Dallas.

The pressure is on to walk the line in Austin as well. They need to balance leadership with humility. They have to do well for their districts, but they can’t step on toes.

In an effort to leverage their numerical heft, the freshman class has formed a Republican Freshman Caucus chaired by Rep. Giovanni Capriglione of Southlake. Villalba is also helping form a bipartisan caucus out of the entire freshman class.

Not campaigning

A hard pill to swallow for a politician fresh off the campaign trail, heady with victory and new power, is the lesson that the very traits that helped them get elected — fiery speeches, trailblazing, audacity — can sometimes hurt them in Austin.

One freshman tried to amend the House rules during the first big floor fight of the session and wound up giving up his spot at the microphone to a senior member who had tricked him — humbling him with the lesson that he did not fully understand the rules he was trying to change.

Last session, then-freshman David Simpson, R-Longview, learned that taking on a powerful chairman, even a member of the opposing party, could turn you into persona non grata.

When he sought to knock Local and Consent Calendar Committee Chairman Senfronia Thompson’s bill banning puppy mills off a schedule of bills reserved for noncontroversial measures to pass quickly, he couldn’t find a single colleague to back him up publicly.

“It was like there was a sniper in the gallery and a red dot on my chest and they didn’t want to get in the way,” Simpson recalled. “No one would even look me in the eye that day.”

He eventually reconciled with Thompson and his colleagues, and he credits the advice of former House Speaker Pete Laney: “Do what’s right, explain it, and you’ll be OK.”

“You are expected as freshmen to sit down and shut up,” Simpson said. “But you’ve got to put your constituents and your state and the Constitution ahead of those political expectations.”

Freshmen say the slow start to the session gives them a chance to start building relationships with other House members.

“The best advice I’ve gotten is to get to know as many members as you can, and that’s what I’ve been spending my time doing,” said Rep. Craig Goldman, R-Fort Worth.

Democratic Rep. Toni Rose got some mentoring from fellow Dallas lawmaker Yvonne Davis, leader of the House Democratic caucus, who told her to “stay true to myself and embrace the principles that I believe in.”

Other advice they’ve gotten: Vote your district’s interests, take time for yourself every day, read your committee bills, don’t try to go to all the events, and when you do go, don’t eat the desserts.

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